Strawberry {Cupcakes} Forever...

My baking (and blog) have been on somewhat of a hiatus.  My husband and I took a three week adventure in Europe, and I just got back to my cupcakin' roots yesterday.  I wanted to bake something for my husband's office, Petrinovich Pugh & Co, because many of the other "wives" do that kind of thing, and I know I can bake with the best of 'em!

In thinking about which flavor to make, I thought of a few options.  My first inclination was to do carrot.  The previous night we spent at Second Harvest food bank, bagging carrots.  Hundreds, and hundreds of carrots.  I thought it would be very tongue in cheek, and, who doesn't like carrot cake?  (stay silent if you don't.  It's a rhetorical question...)  My other thought was to try something completely new like Boston Cream Pie or something like that.  Then, I read the recipe and it sounded too hard for where my brain was yesterday.  Then, I remembered something wonderful that is happening this weekend: my one year anniversary.  My husband and I have been together for seven years and married for one.  The first time Mike was with me for my birthday, he made me (from scratch) a beautiful strawberry cake with strawberry whipped cream frosting.  I have always had a thing for strawberries.  That's when I knew that strawberry cupcakes were the perfect thing for me to bake.

I went to my trusty Martha Stewart cupcake book, and wouldn't you know it - old Martha had a recipe for me.  I went with the Strawberry Cupcakes topped with Strawberry Mirengue Buttercream Frosting.  The results: a beautiful summery cupcake fit for a walk down memory lane and consumption by CPAs.

Photo Credit: Mike Fujii

Photo Credit: Mike Fujii

Photo Credit: Mike Fujii

Don't Hold the "Frost"ing!

Today was the perfect summer day - great weather, started with a walk with the best dog in the world, Taiko, and a cupcake tasting with a great companion at a fabulous new place!

If you recall, I have mentioned my ideal cupcakery.  It includes the following criterion: fun and inviting atmosphere, fun and funky furniture, good music, clean and simple cupcake presentation/display, and drinks!  I mean, who doesn't want to wash down a rich chocolate cupcake with a nice cold glass of milk (or a martini...)  And my visit today, actually came pretty close to meeting most of those!  They stole my concept! ;)

Frost Cupcake Factory JUST opened on July 1st of this year!  I was so excited when I googled "Cupcakeries in SJ" and something besides Kara's actually popped up.  I had been planning to get together with one of my fabulous (ex) students, and this was the perfect venue.  It is in downtown Campbell, right on Campbell Avenue.  Every time I visit that part of town, I always think of how I want to spend more time there.  It is so quaint, fun and cute.  It is the perfect spot for a cupcakery, in fact.

As you can see from their list of flavors - they have some awesome ones.  I was lucky enough to be able to talk to the (super friendly) owner, and she said they they have six flavors that are their kind of "base" - Tahitian Vanilla, Red Velvet, Black Velvet, Frostfetti and Cookies and Cream.  Then, they will have between 2-4 "rotating" flavors.  Her goal is to have six rotating flavors at some point.  I can't WAIT to try some of them.  Coconut mojito?  Hell yes!  Banana Caramel?  Uh, yes please!  Maui Coconut Dream?  Salivating already.  I love the creativity of the names and how they are so much more fun and enticing than "Coconut" or "Vanilla."  A+ for thinking outside the box a bit.

Of course I forgot my camera, but my wonderful taste tester, Cole, brought his, and snapped this photo - just so you can see what we are dealing with.

Photo Credits: Cole Carter

Anyway, on to the tasting...

I had Cole choose two flavors and then I chose two.  I was THRILLED to see the Frostfetti flavor.  That is my favorite flavor of boxed cupcake.  There is something quintessentially young about them - the look, the taste - just everything.  Obviously, that was one of my choices.  The owner also recommended the Lemon Meringue, and that was an easy sell for me.  I love citrus - especially in the summer time.  Cole's choices were the Tahitian Vanilla and the Black Velvet.  We parked outside, and dug in.

Frostfetti

Firstly, I kind of appreciated the uniformity of all of the frostings.  With a name like Frost - I had to pay extra attention to that detail of the cakes.  Not a lot of fanfare, but I liked their minimalist approach.  It went with their whole vibe.

Having said that, and considering my considerable excitement over this flavor, I was a bit disappointed.  It was a bit too dense, and lacked a strong flavor.  Cole agreed with me, and we left about 95% of this cupcake on the plate.  Bummer.

So, while it was pretty, it lacked what I was looking for.  I appreciate the effort, though, and the nod to the classic.

Tahitian Vanilla


I don't know what it is about this flavor being Tahitian that made it sound exponentially more exotic that just plain old American Vanilla, but I bought into that description expecting full blown rich vanilla flavor. Again, it was a bit bland for me.  I really wanted more of a kick in the pants than this offered me.  Again, we left about 90% on the plate.

Again, loved the look and the name, but ultimately, I wasn't taken away to Tahiti with this one....

Black Velvet


Oh my chocolate God.  This was a great cupcake.  Rich.  Moist.  Mouthwatering.  Yum-O.  So amazing. I could have eaten two of these (but, I did have three other cupcakes.  I don't want to be a total pig!)  Seriously though, this was one of the better chocolate cupcakes I have tasted.  The frosting was light - like a whipped cream almost.  Just enough, and it didn't overpower the wonderful flavor of the cake.  Love at first bite, all the way.  I am glad this is a staple, because I will be getting this again.

Lemon Meringue 

Wow is this ever a summer flavor.  Visually, this was a very appealing cupcake.  I love the light toasting on the top and, you can kind of see it, but the gooey yummy lemon sauce oozing out underneath.  I knew this was going to be a good experience for everyone.  When I cut this baby open, imagine my delight to see that the inside also included that gooey lemon filling.  

Every bite of this cupcake SCREAMED lemon.  It was in the frosting, the sauce on top, in the cake itself, and in the filling.  But it wasn't overpowering.  It was bright, refreshing, moist, and sit back in your chair to rejoice in summer good.  

Overall, I was very happy with my visit, and I am so excited to have such a fun place in the neighborhood.  They have free WiFi, so I plan on bringing some papers to grade when school comes around, grabbing a cup of joe, and enjoying the fun place that is Frost.  Hope to see you there!

"Snickerdoodle"ing...

The end of the school year always means a LOT of baking for the Fujii household. I must have gone through a few pounds of butter at least, in the last couple of weeks.  I like to have a beautiful cupcake sitting on the students' desks when they walk in.  It takes some of the edge off of their final.  Not all, but some!

Last night, I tackled a new recipe - Martha Stewart's Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with her Seven Minute Frosting.  They were fairly simple, smelled delicious, and they were gobbled up, crumbs and all!  I loved the frosting, which was surprisingly thick - though it doesn't really look it.  It had a great sheen to it, and made for a very festive piece of desk art!

Oh Bebe!!

I consider myself lucky in many ways.  But lately, I am lucky because people know how much I love cupcakes.  And so, if they think they need to thank me for something, cheer me up, or just have an extra - I get cupcakes.  Homemade, fancy pants, stationary, boxes and trinkets.  You name it!  I love it!  Most recently, my AVID class put on a celebration for the senior AVID students.  Of course, we had cupcakes (as well as many other tasty treats!).  My friend, who teaches the senior class, wanted to give me a thank you, and so - you guessed it!  Cupcakes!  Beautiful, delicious, perfection.  Read on for more on these Bebe Cakes...oh bebe...

First of all, check out the packaging on these babies!  I mean, they certainly are not green, but they also look like a beautiful gift that you just want to stare at and salivate before you tear it open (being very careful not to cut yourself on the sharp plastic corners...lesson learned, people).

My wonderful friend chose some pretty amazing flavors.  In fact, the first one didn't make the photo session because I couldn't wait to eat it (hence, the sharp corner advice -__-...)  I love the names of this company - very fun and humorous.  The one that didn't make the session?  Pucker Up - lemon, summer, delicious.  In my tummy.  Loved it.

Blue Haired Lady

This baby was delish - and look at the presentation!  That frosting is like a soft cloud of frosting...yum-o!  Blue Haired lady is described as "intense chocolate cake - lavender infused buttercream frosting."  I am not really one for lavender, but it was so light, and barely detectable.  The cake was moist.  Overall, this was a beautifully elegant summer cake!  Loved it!

Latin Bombshell

When Amy read me the description for this one, I almost melted.  Get this: "Intense chocolate cakre - dulce de leche filling, chocolate cream cheese frosting drizzled with chocolate caviar."  Do you NEED any more information to go out and get one of these right NOW?  This should really be a dietary staple.  Again, beautiful decoration - I love the simplicity of both of these, and how beautifully fluffy that frosting looks.  I'm not really into a ton of frosting, but it sure looks pretty and rich!  And it was!  The filling was so rich, gooey and delicious.  A must have!

Miss Scarlett

Loved this classic red velvet cake.  Very moist, not too much coloring - notice how it is a deep red color?  And again with the pillow top frosting - notice this is different from a muffin top, which is what I'm going to have because of eating all of these cupcakes.  But, it's for research!  

Overall, I would give the taste and presentation a solid 4 cupcakes.  I only wish that they were a bit more "green", despite the beauty of the current boxing.  I also wish they were closer to me :)

Celebrate Good Times! (with cupcakes)

One of the things I am most passionate about, is my job.  I am a teacher at an amazing high school, work with amazing friends and colleagues, and teach some pretty amazing young people.  No teacher works for praise (thank goodness, because we don't get it very often!) but when you do get praised, it fills your metaphorical bank up so much that it can bring you to tears.

One of my old students nominated me for a very meaningful and amazing award from San Jose State,  and on Tuesday, I went to the awards ceremony to receive a certificate, eat good food, and celebrate the good work of English teachers in the area. I asked my husband to come with me so that we could celebrate together.

As I walked down the stairs of the parking garage, I saw my handsome husband walking across the street with a small white box in his hand.  My curiosity was piqued.  When we met, he opened the box, and inside, lay 6, tiny, beautifully decorated and petite cupcakes.

From top left: Guava, red velvet, strawberry delight, strawberry short cake, orangesicle, snickers

Yummmmm.  I was 

really excited.  We went to the awards ceremony, which was beautiful, and then came home where we (I) promptly dove right in.  I divided my experience over two nights.  (I am a glutton, but even I cannot handle three mini cupcakes in a night.)

The source of these beauties?  Loves Cupcakes in downtown San Jose.  They've been there for two years!  Why am I just now finding out about them!  I didn't pick them up myself, so unfortunately, I can't give them a rating on their ambiance.  But keep reading for all the deets on taste!

Orangesicle

This was definitely going to be my first choice as soon as Mike told me what it was.  If you want a summertime cupcake, this is IT!!  Creamy frosting, and orange zest as a part of the cake itself.  I also loved the orange and vanilla swirled frosting, that replicated the iconic creamsicle perfectly.  Seriously. So good.

For taste, this bad boy which was moist, zesty, and creamy - gets a:

I Loved the perfectly balanced color combination and perfect pointy peak!  

For presentation/frosting, it gets a:

Snickers

My second choice was the Snickers selection.  This is actually the second snickers cupcake I have had, and the first wasn't so great.  However, this one was very pleasing to the eye!  I loved the crunch of the peanut on top of the rich chocolate cake.  It definitely tasted like a snickers.  And, the caramel on the inside was nothing I was going to complain about either.  It was delicious.  Two for two.

This cupcake was divine.  Very good, caramely, and a good texture combination.  This has my stamp of approval.

Love the half and half concept of the frosting.  Jekyll and Hyde - but both are friendly and yummy:)  

For decoration, this one easily earns a:

  

I enjoyed the crunch of the nuts and the smooth silkiness of the caramel.  For taste, this one earns a:

Guava

I discovered something important after sampling this cupcake - I am not a fan of guava.  Mike was not a fan either.  It looked so pretty, but tasted like feet.  No gracias.

This cupcake earns:

for decoration.  I love the simple white frosting with a small dollop of guava yuminess in the center.  And although the dollop ended up tasting like feet, I didn't know this at first!

For taste, I think you might have already guessed:

I had to take a break, and left the other three for the following night (very sad to leave them!).  Here we are, on a taste date, the following night.

Strawberry Delight

This one is right up there with the orangesicle in terms of its summer worthiness.  This picture of the inside of this cupcake speaks for itself.  From top to bottom, this is a delightful strawberry cupcake.  The frosting is light, the inside gooey, and the strawberry decoration on the top - the perfect addition.  Summer berries at their finest.  

For decoration, this cupcake earns a:

  

It really reminds me of one of the hats we saw during the Royal wedding last week. So quaint and cute!

For taste, this cupcake earns a:

Strawberry Shortcake

This really did taste like its name!  Very summery and delicious.  The cake was a bit dry, but it was definitely a good shortcake, topped with light, airy, strawberry deliciousness.  I loved the topping and decoration because it reminded me of one of my favorite childhood characters - Strawberry Shortcake :)  Go figure!  If this cake had eyes and some cute little freckles...well, that might be creepy and I wouldn't have eaten it.  But it was a dead ringer!  I would eat this one again, but would make sure it was a bit more fresh!  There's nothing worse than a stale cake!

For taste, I would give this a:

The cake was dry, and it distracted me!  But given a fresher shortcake, it would be a five!


For decoration, I would give this one a:

Mostly because it reminds me of something I loved in my childhood.  If it didn't, I probably would have taken away a cupcake - I am kind of weirded out by the pink frosting.  Yes, I know, the orangesicle was probably stranger, but for some reason this pink frosting rings in as more artificial!


Red Velvet


This was, quite possibly, the best red velvet I've ever had.  Seriously.  Run out and get one NOW.  In my last post, I talked about what an ideal red velvet should taste like.  It should NOT taste like artificial food coloring.  This one fit the bill top to bottom, first bite to last.    If you notice, it is a relatively dark shade of red.  Sometimes when you get a red velvet, they are almost radioactive red.  Never a good sign, IMHO.  This one is a deep red hue, which means its got a good amount of cocoa powder, which is one of the tastes you want to come through.  It was most, the cream cheese frosting was not overpowering, and was creamy and fresh.  Seriously - top three I've ever had.

For taste, this one gets a:

Cupcakes like these make me wish I had more cupcakes to give.  
SO good.

For decoration, this one gets a:

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am waiting for someone to take this classic and really blow it out of the water with the decoration.  Something more than cream cheese.

Overall, I will definitely be going back to this place.  It is within walking distance and close to my hunny's work.  I definitely had my favorites, but I enjoyed every delectable bite!